The ceremony was conducted without a hitch, as per plan and executed flawlessly. The bride was radiant and visibly overjoyed, the groom was a little shy and blushing, the parents were a little teary eyed and the guests were gracious with their applause and congratulations. The bridal entourage looked picture perfect and even Sunny looked fittingly solemn for a moment when he stepped up to the podium. The Matron of Honor forced herself to keep her eyes glued on the ceremony and not look in the direction of the handsome couple, who sat side by side in the third row to her right. From the corner of her eye, she was acutely aware of her as she flipped her hair back, fanned herself with the program, and leaned in to whisper something to Choi Young Do every now and then. He, on the other hand, from what she could surmise, seemed not to be too averse to her company. She felt like she was back in high school, afraid and anxious that those two were discussing her, picking her over to note everything that was wrong with her. Too fat? Too old? Too haggard? Too pitiful? Cha Eun Sang hoped that her expression didn’t give away the fact that she wanted to drop the bridal bouquet she was holding for Bo Na and just run out of there. She kept her head down and forced herself to focus on the newly married couple as soon as the wedding ceremony was over and they were declared man and wife. She laughed a little too brightly, smiled a little too broadly and hugged Bo Na with all her might, seeking solace from an old friend rather than just as a perfunctory gesture of goodwill.

Cha Eun Sang was glad that the bridal entourage was to immediately repair to the bridal suite after the ceremony so that the new bride could change into a more casual gown for the high tea, which was supposed to hold the guests over till the cocktail hour arrived. Thrown among the frantic wedding planning crew, the tittering bridesmaids, incessant clicking of champagne glasses and swishing gowns, Cha Eun Sang went through the motions whenever she was called upon to help and stood detachedly to the side when she was not. Lee Bo Na noticed that her old friend looked distracted, if not downright depressed. What she was not clear about was whether she was sad about her past or hopeless about her future. She wanted to sit her down and ask her a few hard questions but decided to wait. This was a long time in the making and a few days more wasn’t going to make any difference or perhaps it would actually help. Weddings always made people wish for their own romance or lament the horror that their marriage had become. She would allow Cha Eun Sang to choose her path. She was only going to encourage her to give it some serious thought. Yoon Chan Young had warned her not meddle in Cha Eun Sang’s life but then Yoon Chan Young, in Lee Bo Na’s opinion, was too laid back. If she had left it to him, she would still be waiting for him to propose to her!

Cha Eun Sang slipped out quietly to her room, leaving Sunny in the care of an older bridesmaid, who had seemed a little more sensible than the rest. She just needed 10 minutes alone, to breathe and to think. She just couldn’t figure out why she felt so disheartened ever since she had noticed Yoo Rachel. She was not the same poor girl from high school anymore. She had got to marry the ‘prince’, didn’t she? She lived in luxury now, she had a sweet boy, she had a big mansion she called home and she spoke fluent ‘rich and sophisticated’, just like Rachel. Then why did she feel two feet small when she saw Yoo Rachel? Could it be because despite everything, the ‘happily ever after’ had eluded her? Could it be because she was still considered a usurper in the world of the hereditary rich? Or was it because she would never be the object of a man’s passion like Rachel could be? She was a mother, a daughter-in-law, a daughter but not a woman to a man…..not anymore. No matter how she tried, she could not shake off the feeling that Rachel was Choi Young Do’s type. She was more Choi Young Do’s type than Kim Tan’s. They were both ambitious, driven and ruthless. She bit her lower lip to stop the angry and hurt tears that welled in her eyes as she muttered under her breath, “Perfectly made for each other!”

Elsewhere, in the lawn below, Yoo Rachel turned heads and drew barely disguised lascivious glances as she purposefully and regally walked the length and breadth of the green used for the gathering as guests socialized over champagne, waiting for the bride and groom to appear. She smiled sweetly at her ‘targets’, who were present business acquaintances and future networking contacts and batted her eyelashes. She even turned her wrists opportunely to show off her , toned and graceful arms, which tastefully hinted at what lay under the expensive fabric of her dress. Summarily put, she bloodlessly slayed the men she set her eyes on. She was an epitome of sensuous charm that hid an extremely practical and clever mind. Heart was not Rachel’s priority…not anymore. Only once in her life she had been made a fool of and that was because of her heart. She had fallen in love with Kim Tan. The beautiful, angst-laden, misunderstood underdog of a prince. Even though he was a low class concubine’s son, she had overlooked his half caste status and had given him her heart. But he had shown his true colors by choosing a maid’s daughter as his wife…….somehow fitting, given his illegitimate status. Ever since that terrible disappointment, she had avoided anything remotely emotional. She had come to love numbers. Everything was far easier to understand when put in precise numbers. Right contacts bring right business propositions and right business propositions bring in right numbers. Right time, right place and right contacts…..that was her mantra. Not friends but contacts. Contacts who can be investors or be investment opportunities. And she wanted Cho Young Do as her contact…..for life. The numbers simply added up and she was absolutely sure that he would see the benefits of the same as soon as she explained the business plan to him.

Choi Young Do knew that Rachel was approaching him even though he didn’t have eyes on the back of his head. But the gentleman he was talking to, had stopped midsentence and had started sputtering as his eyes had become fixed on something beyond Choi Young Do’s shoulder with the hard and unabashed glint of ual hunger. Choi Young Do felt more irritated than uncomfortable at the prospect of sparring with Rachel. He was sure that she had an agenda and he didn’t feel like fielding her direct and indirect demands. She was beautiful and rich but nobody had ever told her entitled self that not every man owed her everything that she desired just because she was pretty and oozed . Choi Young Do hated to be the bearer of the bad news! She had approached him once or twice before with some plans of collaborating on projects but Choi Young Do had feigned polite disinterest by citing that he was more interested in consolidating his business rather than expanding into new segments. But there was something different this time. She had seemed more assured and determined than ever before. In the few words that they had exchanged, he had got a sense that she was ‘in it to win it’ this time around. She had the feminine charm, with a few carefully inserted references to their shared plight of being caught in an undesirable, almost marriage between their parents and of being the spurned ones in couple of intertwined love triangles from their high school days. She was trying to build rapport and Choi Young Do didn’t want any part of it. If anything, Rachel reminded him of the most miserable days of his life. A time when he had felt powerless before his father’s tyranny and torment, anguished due to his mother’s absence and frustrated at the loss of his first love. He wanted to avoid her and forget those days forever. But that was not to be.

“Hello, President Park, would you mind terribly if I steal my old friend from you?” she sounded positively coquettish as she laid a proprietary hand on Choi Young Do’s upper arm and dazzled the poor man with a smile that showed just the perfect amount of teeth. President Park could only shake his head in assent as she practically trilled in gratitude and pulled at Choi Young Do. Choi Young Do smiled stiffly at President Park and bid him goodbye before letting Rachel have her way. The sly glances from men immediately took on a hard glint of jealousy as many pairs of eyes took in the handsome pair that these two made. The women were envious of the beautiful girl and the men resented the handsome man. She threw a sidelong glance and noted the glass of champagne in his hand and intercepted a passing waiter to pick up one herself. She didn’t let go of him till they reached a little clearing, relatively free of people. As soon as she let up, Choi Young pulled away from her lax grip and turned to face her with a mocking smile on his face.

“Old friend! Since when are we friends? We were two of a kind but we are too alike to really like each other. When I look at you, it’s like looking at a mirror……. a magnifying one actually.” He let sarcasm fill in for the words that were left unsaid.

Rachel smiled just as sweetly and shot back, “All the more reason for us to be friends, don’t you think? We don’t have to pretend for the sake of social expectations and political correctness. We can be just the way we are with each other. Clever, high achievers and superior to all those who dare to judge us.”

Choi Young Do mentally applauded her forthrightness but bristled at her presumption, “And what if I tell you that I don’t like what I see of myself in the mirror? And even if I like myself and the conceit that comes with it, why would I care to share my charmed life with another? There is place for only one at the top and I don’t think either of us will settle for anything less.”

Undeterred, Rachel took a sip of her champagne and formulated a quick answer, “But what if we help each other reach the top in different spheres? You have hotels and I have a fashion business but we both market to the same class of people, who appreciate luxury and have deep pockets. Just think, we can create an international business empire, a line of luxury goods and services, feeding off each other’s brand value.” She tilted her head and considered Choi Young Do’s impassive face, “What happened to the aggressive, alpha male Choi Young Do that I knew? What happened to the fire in your belly to destroy all competition?”

Choi Young Do didn’t rise to the bait and instead replied in a very calm manner, “Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread! Perhaps one day, I will expand my realm but right now, I am only focusing on what I have. I have spread myself too thin already. I need to get a lot of things under control before I think of diversifying. It is all about timing and this is not the right time.”

Rachel’s voice took on a clipped edge as she replied, “You see, Choi Young Do, time is never right by itself. You can’t wait for opportunity to knock on your door. You have to create it. You have to get a grip on it and make it your time.”

Choi Young Do only shook his head at her vehemence, somehow finally getting an upper hand over her in his mind, “Yoo Rachel, have you not learnt anything? The tighter you try to hold onto something, the easier it slips through your fingers. You will only burn yourself out. Don’t forget to breathe.”

A brittle laugh emanated from Rachel as she scathingly appraised the young man before her, “Who are you fooling, Choi Young Do? I know everything about you. I know the deepest, darkest recesses of your heart. Unless, you have had a heart transplant, whose words are these that you are mouthing? They sound so hollow from your lips.”

She did not miss how Choi Young Do’s jaws clenched and his eyes iced over but she didn’t back down. She liked this Choi Young Do. The angry, vicious, Hell boy from the past. She could deal with this one, not the philosophy spouting pretender of a moment ago. She smirked and looked as pleased as Punch, “There, there! Did I step on a soft spot? Do you think I didn’t notice the glances that you threw her way? Looking like a lovelorn teenager again? Trying hard to catch her eyes? Hoping for a smile from her? Seriously embarrassing. And dangerous! Remember, her Prince Charming perished in a ball of fire.”

Choi Young Do gritted out a warning, “Shut up! It was not her fault!” His eyes blazed with a cold threat, “Don’t you dare approach her and say hurtful things like that to her. She has mourned that guy for longer than he deserved. She is more of a woman than you can ever be. I knew it then and I am sure of it now. Hell, even Kim Tan, who was no angel himself, knew a good soul when he saw one. He set his eyes on her ‘unsophisticated’ self and forgot you in a moment. He practically ran you over to get to her.”

Rachel didn’t seem hurt, merely angry and bitter as she asked with a careless shrug, “Since poor Kim Tan is not among the living anymore, I will ask her other admirer…..what do you see in that mousy little girl? She is so extraordinarily ordinary. She is not beautiful, she is not rich, she is not brilliant, she is not accomplished, she is not sophisticated and now, she is just a widow with a child at the mercy of his in-laws.”

Choi Young Do bit his lower lip and sighed longingly, which did nothing to appease Rachel, before acknowledging in clear terms his feelings for Cha Eun Sang, “She is beauty without vanity, she is strength without cruelty and she is pride without arrogance. She is kind but not a pushover, she is caring but firm, she is loyal but not a lackey and she loves with an intensity that is beyond comprehension for people like you and I. She would go to the ends of the earth for the people she cares about, she would go hungry to feed the ones she dotes on, she would sacrifice her self-respect for the welfare of her loved ones and she would give up her life for her son. That is why is she is so extraordinary. She is one of a kind…….at least in our world. It’s a pity that even that dimwit, Kim Tan, had managed to figure that out before I did. As I said, my dear Yoo Rachel, it is all about timing!”

Rachel looked like an obstinate mare as she challenged haughtily, “How very poetic! So in your opinion, she is perfect, is she?”

Choi Young Do smiled impishly, knowing that the words that he had uttered under attack from Rachel, came so easily to his lips because they had lived in his heart for a long time. Perhaps longer than he had known himself. “Nope! I wouldn’t say so. There is one account, on which she failed spectacularly” he paused before adding with a scornful smile, “She never saw beyond the obvious and chose that damp squib Kim Tan over me.” Choi Young Do dramatically and exaggeratedly pouted like a petulant child.

But Rachel was not amused, “Do you not have any self-respect? Why are you still sweet on her if she is that much of a fool? She was married to the guy you hated so much, who, by the way, stole her from you. How can you even stand her, let alone sing her praises?”

Choi Young Do looked seriously thoughtful for a moment, “I don’t know”, he lowered his eyes onto the contents of his glass as if trying to find an explanation in the bubbles of that golden liquid, “I honestly don’t know. I am amazed myself as to where I find the strength to stay next to her. I thought that I couldn’t stand to see her again in flesh so imagine my surprise, when I survived with nothing worse than a racing heart. When I thought I would hate her….and Kim Tan’s son…..for sure, I found myself become fascinated by a child for the first time. When I thought I would probably explode at her if I hear her speak sentimentally about Kim Tan, I found myself being more concerned about her heartbreak over him than mine over her”, he scoffed, “I think this is what they refer to as ‘making a man out of a boy’….a very resentful and angry boy at that.”

Rachel refused to give up. She was sure that the very bitter boy with hatred filled heart lurked very near the surface, in spite of his Zen like statements. She narrowed her eyes and tried to project her skepticism, “So, nothing will change your mind about her? You have vowed to stay next to her, even if she uses you and discards you again? You are even willing to forgo a lucrative partnership with me for that long lost, unrequited love of yours?”

Choi Young Do scrunched up his nose as if he was weighing her words seriously, “Just a cold, calculated business partnership versus an honest friendship…..perhaps more….sometime in the future……decisions…decisions.”

Rachel saw an opening and inserted with a crooked smile, “Who said ‘just’? I am amenable to other possible aspects of the proposed partnership as well. You are a hot blooded man and I am beautiful woman in her prime. There is no reason we cannot have a little fun on the side as well. No strings attached. That is more than what you will ever get from that prude, no matter how long you hang around her. If her untouched ity was a charm earlier, then even that is gone now. She is second hand goods.”

Choi Young Do casually dumped the rest of the champagne in his glass, aiming perfectly at her crystal clad, one of a kind Jimmy Choo high heels as he said coolly, “Sweetheart, at least I am sure that because she is a prude that there was only one other man who had ever touched her. You are what……fifty men down? Or is it one fifty?” he watched Rachel’s shock at being assaulted with champagne transform into a full blown rage and sneered, “Never mind, I don’t want to guess for the rest of my life.” He walked away hurriedly because he was about to do something very stupid if he didn’t.

Sunny had made himself a little imaginary bubble around him. He pretended that he couldn’t see anybody and nobody could see him. And that is how he had acted when his mom had brought him food on a plate. He sat on a bench which was well hidden from the main area where high tea was being served. He was sulking and felt homesick. He wanted to go back to his solitary life. This was the first time in his life that he had seen so many people together but after the initial novelty had worn off, he had found the crowd of strange faces tiresome. The few people he knew and loved to be around, seemed too busy to spend any time with him. There was a huge lawn and yet he couldn’t play soccer with anybody. There was a beach but he couldn’t build a sand castle there. He hadn’t even taken a dip in the sea like his mom had promised. All in all, it was a wasted trip along with the added infamy that he had earned due to his impulsiveness. He wished they could see that he was just bored and thought that he could actually play soccer when he saw his somchon friend. He was pretty sure that he had lost his friendship as well. He looked at the plate of food that sat untouched on the bench next to him. He didn’t know why he didn’t feel like eating when his stomach rumbled like when he was hungry. He went back to fiddling with the button on his suit jacket. He had managed to pick out the stitches on one and take it out. He was in the process of taking the second button out. He could see an adult figure approach from the corner of his lowered eyes but refused to look up. It was not his mom for she was wearing a light blue dress. This was a man in a grey pants.

Choi Young Do had a bitter taste in his mouth after his tete-a-tete with Rachel and had nearly walked past the spread, intent on getting a stronger drink instead since a cool shower was out of the question right then and he didn’t want to draw attention from other attendees by departing suddenly. He had spied a dejected looking Cha Eun Sang walk back towards the throng of people, including the bride and groom, who sat under a temporary shelter fashioned into a tent of sorts. He quickly glanced about but couldn’t spot Sunny. He waited to catch her eyes and eventually he did. Even though they were about 10 meters apart, he asked with only his eyes and Cha Eun Sang turned her head towards the direction behind her, looking a little concerned. Following her lead, Choi Young Do could spy a small figure sitting on a bench, far away from the adults. He smiled and nodded almost imperceptibly at Cha Eun Sang and turned towards the buffet. He aimed straight for the dessert section. He had a special ice-cream sundae made with three different kinds of chocolate ice-cream, on a bed of brownie with extra toppings of rainbow sprinkles, nuts and a massive amount of whipped cream. He did draw a few curious stares as he headed towards the bench carrying the extra-large sundae, armed with two spoons and a wealth of knowledge about smarting pride of hurt little boys.

He sat down next to Sunny, who merely peeped through his lowered eyes. He noted the untouched plate of food and sighed audibly. He looked about, pointedly avoided looking at Sunny, before digging into the mound of ice-cream with a sound of expected relish. He made a point of groaning in appreciation before taking another spoonful. Even his third and fourth spoonful didn’t make any dent in that heap of decadent dessert. He set it on the bench next to the plate of food. Sunny cast a quick glance and looked interested.

Choi Young Do pointed out, “One of a kind, custom made ice cream. This is your only chance to taste it. If you don’t, you may lose out. I created it. Nobody else knows how to make it.”

Sunny cast a sidelong glance at the tantalizing platter of ice-cream but didn’t show any inclination to claim it. Choi Young Do picked up another spoonful and almost brought it to his mouth before noticing that Sunny was following the movement of his arm keenly. He pretended to pause and change his mind before he held out the spoon to the little boy. Sunny seemed hypnotized by the sight of melting ice-cream overflow the spoon and leaned in to delicately close his little mouth around it. He didn’t see the smile that curved Choi Young Do’s lips and crinkled the corners of his eyes.

He merely asked in a level voice, “How is it?” Sunny nodded appreciatively, his eyes still fixed on the sundae. Choi Young Do dug into the other side of the sundae and picked up anothe